


Still Jack and Daniel Series 2 - No Yellow Brick Road 6 - Sharing Memories

by Annejackdanny



Series: Still Jack and Daniel Series 2 - No Yellow Brick Road/Ghosts of the Past [4]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, h/c
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-13
Updated: 2012-09-13
Packaged: 2017-11-14 04:18:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/511233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annejackdanny/pseuds/Annejackdanny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little and Big Daniel are sharing some memories... a flashback to Little Daniel's 8th birthday (the second time around)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still Jack and Daniel Series 2 - No Yellow Brick Road 6 - Sharing Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes:  
> I'm aware that in canon (Series canon) Daniel's parents were still alive when he celebrated his 8th birthday. But it wanted to be written otherwise here so in my world his parents died shortly before his 8th birthday. 
> 
> Warning – mild swatting in memory flashback

**No Yellow Brick Road**

**VI**

**Sharing Memories**

**I**

  
  


"Are you sure you want to do this, Daniel?"

"Yep. I'm good. It' ll be fun."

Jack steered the truck through a quiet suburb of Colorado Springs. It was a nice quiet neighborhood and much more domestic than the part of town where Daniel had lived... before. Jack remembered his apartment well. It had been in the middle of the city, the next Starbucks only a block away. Now it was small wooden houses with small yards. He had to be careful not to accidentally kill a cat that chose to sit in the middle of the road. 

"I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. If something's wrong, you call Carter and she'll pick you up, okay? Or the big guy can take you back to the mountain when he leaves tonight."

"Yes, Jack, I know. You told me. Three times. We'll be fine."

"I know. Just..."

"I know."

"You really want to stay the night?"

"Ja-ack!"

"Sorry." O'Neill slammed the horn when yet another cat strolled across the rain-slicked road. Flyboy let out an annoyed bark from his place in the back seat. Finally they found the right address and a moment later Jack parked the truck in front of a small house with a shabby front yard. Grass and weeds were growing at knee height, brown and dead, due to February frost. The windows of the house were curtain-less and the whole building needed a good painting. Jack guessed it would stay just as bedraggled as it was if nobody took it in hand. At least on the outside. 

Shaking his head, he unbuckled his seatbelt and left the truck to let the dog out.

Daniel climbed out, holding his backpack in one hand. He had three books wedged under his left arm.

Jack pulled the second bag from the truck and followed his pint-sized friend to the house. "You have everything, kiddo? I mean, other than books? Took the kitchen sink? The TV?" he asked, eying Daniel's apparently heavy back pack. 

He was going to stay here one night and had packed as though he was planning to move in with Jackson.

“Ja-ack,” Daniel moaned. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Daniel liked taking books wherever he went. Whether or not he had time and opportunity to read them was a different story. Jack guessed that books were giving the kid a feeling of safety or something. They were comforting. Familiar. He didn't check what Daniel put into his backpack, but he had reminded him not to forget his toothbrush or tee for the night, and some extra clothes. Still, that wasn't a guarantee Daniel had listened to him.

"I have packed normal things, too. Even Amab," Daniel mumbled finally as they reached the front door.

"Cool. Make sure Flyboy doesn't chew on him."

Daniel spun around to give Jack an intimidating glare. "Are you done yet?" 

"Actually," Jack grinned, "no." He ruffled Daniel's hair. "Now I'm done." 

"Funny," the Wretch muttered and turned to press the doorbell.

Jackson opened the door a moment later and waved them in. Jack followed him and the little Daniel down the hallway,  side- stepping paint buckets and rolls of wallpaper until they entered a large room with two big windows and french doors leading to a porch. Two walls of the room were already painted. Teal'c was standing on a ladder, painting the ceiling in the same sunny yellow... no, it was more a sandy warm tone, Jack decided. Reminded him of all the sand in Egypt. 

"Hey, T," Jack greeted him  in passing as they walked into a smaller room. A sleeping bag was rolled up in a corner. There was a shelf with all sorts of things like tools, a few books, a lamp and some M&M bags. Always a sweet tooth, that Doctor Jackson. 

"Just put Daniel's things here. We'll order pizza later," Jackson told him.

"Right. Flyboy's bowls and dog food are in the other bag. Here's Daniel's sleeping bag. Daniel, did you bring Flyboy's leash?"

"Yes. I put it in the bag with his other things." 

Jackson took the bag from Jack and put it next to little Daniel's sleeping bag and backpack. 

O'Neill didn't look at the paint spots on Jackson's worn out tee and faded jeans. Those were Daniel's clothes. His Daniel's clothes. He had given them to his big version a few weeks ago. "They’re old, and I can get new stuff when I'm big again. Why should he ruin his new clothes?" Daniel had shrugged. They were from Jack's box. Okay, it was Daniel's box, to be specific. But it was in Jack's closet and Jack wasn't exactly happy about giving Jackson the jeans and tee so he could wear them while he was refurbishing his new house. When he was done here, the clothes would go into trash and that seemed just... wrong.

Well, Jack wasn't happy about a lot of things. There was a paint spot on Jackson's left cheek, for example, just a tiny spot that seemed to get larger when he smiled, like now. Jack wasn't happy about the paint spot there and the fact that he would have brushed his fingers over it if this were his old Daniel... 

Those jeans were too tight, too. 

"You want a coffee before you hit the road?" Jackson wanted to know.

"You have a coffee maker? Thought you didn't even have a kitchen yet," Jack snorted.

Why wasn't he surprised? 

"Um, yeah. It was on sale at Walmart. It's not the best coffee maker in the world, but it does make coffee." 

"Right. Don't give Daniel coffee after five if you wanna have a quiet night,” Jack murmured. Dragging his eyes away from that paint spot on Jackson's face, he gazed at a very interesting crack in the wall instead. 

"Coffee only after five. Got it." 

"Smart ass," Jack said, then grimaced. It was so easy to fall back into old patterns. Too easy. 

He should be going. He’d been ordered to Washington DC for a meeting and Daniel decided to stay with Jackson and help him paint and put up some wallpapers. Since Jackson had spent Christmas with them, those two had become friends amazingly fast. However, this was the first time Daniel had wanted to spend time outside of work with Big-him and Jack felt just a little reluctant to leave him alone here. Not that he didn't trust Jackson. Well, that would be ridiculous, right? Daniel was Daniel, and there was no reason to think the kid wouldn't be safe with him. Jack just wasn't sure if the little buddy wouldn't change his mind or get a case of depression all of a sudden halfway through this. 

Well, they would see and learn. 

"Okay, I'm out of here. Daniel's phone is in his backpack. If there's any problem, call Carter or Teal'c. If there's an emergency, call me," he told Jackson, forcing himself not to rattle down a list of rules and warnings about the proper caretaking of one shrunk kid genius. 

"We'll be fine," both Daniels informed him.

Jack patted the little one's head. "You'll be good, understood?" 

"Yes,  _dad_ ," Daniel snorted.

"I mean it, Wretch. Behave yourself." 

"I will." This time he sounded more or less sincere.

Jack hugged him and yelled his goodbye to Teal'c before he left.

*******

From one of the front windows, Daniel watched the truck leave. He waved and was answered with a honk of Jack's horn before the Ford vanished around the next corner. Forcing away the odd feeling of being alone all of a sudden, he turned and was greeted by Teal'c who held out a little bowl with Spackling Compound and a scraper. "You can start to search for holes and cracks in the walls of the next room, DanielJacksonO'Neill."

"Okay. I fill them with this stuff then, right?"

"Indeed. Use only a little of it and smooth the wall with the scraper afterward so there will be no bumps in it," Teal'c explained.

"Got it. I need a ladder to do it though," Daniel said.

"Oh, I'll go with you and bring a ladder. I'll do the upper half of the walls and you work on the lower areas," Jackson told him briskly as he grabbed the ladder and walked out. Teal'c handed Daniel a second bowl with compound and another scraper.

For a while they worked silently. It was an old house and there were plenty of holes and cracks to fill. Daniel could see lots of little nail holes where the former owner had had his pictures. Suddenly he wondered how his apartment looked now and who was living in it. Did the new owner change the wallpaper, too? It had been fairly new. But then again he had drilled lots of hangers and nails in the walls. For shelves and pictures or artifacts. 

"Will this be your office?" he asked his adult self after a while.

"Yep. The other smaller room where the sleeping bags are now is going to be the bedroom. I'll paint them all in the same color though. The color reminds me of Egypt. It looks like the sand of the desert."

"Yes, that's true. Jack and I painted a pyramid on one wall in my room. And palms. Oh, but you know that already, right? The pyramid was still there when you got big, I guess," Daniel replied while he filled another crack.

Jackson nodded. "Yeah, it was still there. I liked it."

"We can paint something on your bedroom wall, too. It's fun," Daniel offered.

"I'll think about it. Actually I think the bedroom is too small. I f we’d do something like that i t would look better on the living room wall," Jackson mused. "We'd need more paint for that though. And a pattern. We could make an airbrush maybe."

"Have you ever done an airbrush?"

Jackson shrugged. "We can look it up somewhere. Can't be too hard to learn."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

When they were finished with the walls, they went into the other room and helped Teal'c with the painting. Like so many things, Daniel had done his share of painting rooms before. When he had been big. Holding the paint roller now was not as easy anymore, and it took some time before he got the hang of it. But he had learned to be more patient and not to give up as fast as he would have a couple of months ago. Mostly. 

Teal'c gently guided his arm a few times and Daniel didn't feel overly embarrassed about it. After a while he managed to handle the roller and paint the wall where no ladder was required and he could do his job without help. Jackson also showed him how to mix the light yellow and ocher paint to get the warm sandy tone.

"I've done this before. Mixing paints," Daniel pointed out as he used the stick in the paint bucket to stir. Flyboy sat next to him and peered into the bucket. But he didn't seem to like the smell of it. After a moment he shook his head and trotted out of the room to find a spot to doze for a while. Jack and Daniel had taken him on a very long walk early this morning so he wouldn't be too hyper.

"Sorry. I know. You'll handle it," Jackson said, blushing a little, and returned to his own painting.

Daniel did handle it just fine. Somehow there was a lot of paint on his shirt, hands and arms afterward, though. Even his hair had streaks of yellow. He must have raked his fingers through it. But the color of the paint was right. Jackson laughed and shook his head. "Too bad we don't have a shower here yet. Maybe you can wash your hair over the sink. There's warm water already."

" I’ll just take a bath at home tomorrow." Daniel shrugged, then looked at his hands and grinned. He looked a little alien with the paint on him. 

"The paint should be water soluble. But we have to clean you up somehow." Jackson grinned, too.

"Well, this will dry, and it's not such a mess like all the food I got over my head and on my shirt when Anna and I had the food fight in Cairo," Daniel snickered, finding the memory hilarious all of a sudden. 

He hadn't thought about that in weeks. He and Anna were still e-mailing, and he had sent her pics of Flyboy and also helped her with a some of her home schooling projects. "Jack had to wash my hair because my ear was infected and I couldn't get water in it. Boy, was he mad! Even though I'm sure he secretly laughed about it when we were still at the restaurant."

Jackson took the mixed paint and handed it to Teal'c, who was on the ladder working with the paint roller. "Ah, yes. The food fight. I heard about that. You know... that's so... immature."

"I didn't start it. Anna did. I only defended myself," Daniel pouted. Then his face brightened. "Oh, and later Jack made me jump on the bed!"

"As a punishment?" Jackson asked, his eyebrows wandering over the rims of his glasses. His eyes were completely healed, and he seemed to wear the glasses on a regular basis now when he wasn't working. 

"Nonono, not as punishment. He said I wouldn't dare to do it because I was waaay to mature to try it. He dared me. He said even though I threw food at a girl, I still wouldn't jump on a bed. So I showed him. And I told him I did it before when I found the star map in his office - that night before I opened the gate. Remember that? How I snuck in there and stole the map?" 

For a moment, Jackson looked like he had no idea what Daniel was talking about. Then a smile spread over his face. "Yeah. I used nail clippers to open Jack's office. Wow. Considering what kind of guy he was back then, that was really brave. Or insane. And yes, I remember jumping on that field bed after I figured out the star map's connection to the gate. Hey, didn't that field bed crash?"

"Yes, it did." They looked at each other and laughed. 

Daniel felt amazed how  talking to Jackson seemed to be easier and easier. He remembered how tense and even scared he had been before. He hadn't even wanted to be in the same room with his adult self. Now the ice was broken and Jackson was more and more like a separate person and not his own future self. Or maybe he was like a relative. It still felt awkward sometimes to see Jackson and realize that this was sort of how Daniel had looked only a bit over a year ago. But lately he was able to get over those moments rather quickly. 

He was aware there were still some issues regarding Jackson. Daniel just ignored them for now. He couldn't do anything about them anyway. Once he was big again, there would be two of them, and he had no idea how they were going to deal with that. Right now, though, it was getting easier to live with the current situation, and that was what counted.

They would cross that bridge when they came to it. Jack had said - promised him - they would be okay in the end. Daniel needed to trust him. And he did. 

For lunch they had microwave-grilled hot dogs and ice cream. Daniel also got a big mug of coffee. He even got two refills. Jack being not here really had its benefits, he decided. Teal'c raised his eyebrow at this, but didn't comment. 

Later they finished painting the office, and Daniel made adjustments with a fine brush on some spots where the paint looked a little patchy. 

Teal'c, who had done an excellent job in painting the ceiling, stepped down from the ladder, put his tools aside and pulled his phone from his pant pocket. "It is time for dinner now, Daniels. I will order the pizza."

Daniel and Daniel  made their choices and then  listened to the Jaffa daring the poor pizza guy to "deliver the ordered meals as fast as possible" and "no, waiting longer than thirty minutes is not acceptable." 

While they waited for the pizza, they put the tools away and Jackson took the dog for a walk. Daniel washed his hands and arms in the sink and succeeded in getting most of the paint off. 

When he came out of the bathroom, Teal'c called him into the living room. The big guy had put up a camping table and three chairs and set out cans of Doctor Pepper and Pepsi Free. Four big candles were lit since it was already dark outside and there were no lights in the ceilings yet. Daniel had seen a large floor lamp in the other room that would make it possible to work in the dark. But the candles were much more comfy. 

"Hey, this looks great. I’ve always liked candlelight dinners." Daniel grinned as he slumped down on one of the chairs. He suppressed a yawn and grabbed a Seven Up can. 

"The pizza should be here by now," the Jaffa said, almost grumbling. "I told the man to hurry." 

As if on cue, the bell rang. Teal’c answered the door and returned with four boxes of pizza. Daniel wasn't surprised about that. Teal'c could easily handle two pizzas by himself. 

A moment later Jackson and Flyboy returned, and once they had fed the dog, they sat down to eat. The cheese and pepperoni pizza was great, and Daniel gave Flyboy some of his crust. 

"Hey, Daniel, tell me about that food fight," Jackson requested and then added, "If you don't mind, of course. I'd like to hear that story."

"I, too, would like to listen to that tale again. O'Neill gave a very colorful description of the events," Teal'c chimed in, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Oh, yes. Jack had enjoyed teasing Daniel and had given their teammates quite a performance when he'd told the story at their first team gathering after their return from Egypt. Daniel regretted that he’d never told Jack to keep quiet about that. 

He had probably deserved the teasing though.

Reluctantly at first, he related the story about how they had met Anna and her parents in Egypt and what events led to the food fight in the hotel restaurant and found himself giggling as he described the reactions of the other guests and the waiters. And how Jack had covered his face with his hands so nobody could see him...well, if not laughing... at least grinning at first. He was aware that none of it had been funny back then. Anna's parents had been mad, and Jack lost his humor once they'd been up at the hotel room. But now that a few months had passed, it really sounded like a slapstick movie.

When the story was over Jackson grinned and shook his head. "Poor foster parents," he snorted.

"They aren't that bad, I think," Daniel said. "At least they try. You can't say that about all of them." 

"No. I hope that girl gets lucky."

"We e-mail. She seems to have some struggles. But she's still there, so..." Daniel shrugged.

"I'll put on some coffee," Jackson decided and got up. He gathered the pizza boxes together to toss them into the trash can on his way. 

"Oh, yeah. A coffee would be great." Daniel sighed, rubbing his full belly. 

"O'Neill does not want you to drink coffee in the evenings," Teal'c reminded him gently.

"Jack's not here. He won't even notice," Daniel quipped and flashed his Jaffa friend one of his biggest smiles. Teal'c raised his eyebrow. Fluttering eyelashes and big smiles didn't make the eyebrow come down. Daniel sighed again. Message received 

"I guess I'll take another Seven Up then."

The eyebrow came down, and Teal'c looked suspiciously pleased with himself. 

Jackson rolled his eyes and, to Daniel's surprise, said, "I can't see why letting him have one more cup of coffee would do any harm. Do you know there is no medical evidence that caffeine has a more unhealthy effect on children than on adults?" 

For a moment Daniel was tempted to grab the opportunity to get a coffee after all. Jack was making exceptions here and there, so it wasn't really a big deal. But he’d already had his coffee fix for today and he knew from experience that he probably would end up being wide awake when everyo ne else was ready to sleep. It had happened a few times in the past. Nobody should say Daniel Jackson O'Neill was incapable of learning from life. 

"It's okay. I'll live. Um, you don't have some cocoa, do you?"

"Cocoa? Uh, no. I'm sorry," his adult self muttered and left the room. 

An hour later, Teal'c left for the base. Jackson offered to let him stay the night, but Teal’c shook his head and pointed out that he was gating out to train recruits early the next morning on an uninhabited world.

"Oh, have... fun," both Daniels grinned.

"I will do my best to ensure the new recruits will be trained well on this field trip," Teal'c replied stoically as he pulled on his thick winter coat. 

"You sure do enjoy those training lessons, don't you?" Jackson smiled.

"They are an excellent way to exercise and test physical limits," the Jaffa said. "Sleep well, Daniels." And with that his giant figure vanished into the cold night. 

"Hey, he's calling us ‘Daniels’ now. I like that. Jack will, too. He said it's annoying to wait until T has finished saying DanielJackson and DanielJacksonO'Neill in every second sentence," Daniel joked. 

"I told him he could call me Jackson, but he refuses to do that for some reason. I wonder why. He calls Jack ‘O'Neill’ all the time," Jackson mused as they returned to the warm house to get ready for the night.

"Yeah. And Sam is always MajorCarter. But he rarely calls Jack ‘ColonelO'Neill.’ Is there a hidden meaning in that?"

Jackson shrugged. "I have no idea. Come on, let's crawl into the sleeping bags. You want a coffee now?"

"No. I like to get away with more than I should, and it works sometimes. Well, I think Jack knows anyway. But I really shouldn't drink any more. I had enough this morning and after lunch. It's okay." 

After using the bathroom, Daniel rolled his sleeping bag out on the floor in the bedroom. Jackson said he'd get the candles from the dinner table. When he returned he set them down between their bedrolls "Are you very tired? Do you mind if we talk for a minute?"

"No, not tired. Talking is fine," Daniel answered as he stretched out on his sleeping bag and suppressed a yawn. 

Jackson settled down next to Daniel. "So," he said brightly as he put his hands under his head and gazed up at the dark ceiling.

"So," Daniel replied, mirroring the position of his adult self. "When do you expect to get all your things in?"

"Oh, a couple of weeks, I guess. I need to install lights and replace the sockets. Um, then I want to do the kitchen and get some stuff for the bathroom. I also need furniture. I guess I have to do some shopping. Sam volunteered to go with me." The last sentence was uttered with a slight wince, and Daniel had to grin.

"Sam's great to shop with, really. She took me a couple of times when Jack couldn't do it, like when he was injured. It wasn't that bad. Okay, well, she tried to convince me I needed a better laptop and a phone with camera when all I wanted to buy was a new Nintendo. But really, she's great company."

"Did she try to put you into brightly colored kid clothes? I noticed you’re wearing shirts with p r i nt s and stonewashed jeans," Jackson teased mildly. "You even have a hockey shirt... well, I can sense an O'Neill influence  there ."

"No, she didn't. Sam's not the motherly type who wants to force me into cute little boys’ clothes. She has her moments, though. I thought I'd try something new. Couldn't hurt. I don't have to be... invisible anymore, you know? As in looking as low-key as possible," Daniel said thoughtfully, realizing he had put into words what really possessed him to wear all those plain and plaid clothes. Well, he'd liked them. But the habit had been born out of another reason. The more attention you drew to yourself, the more trouble you got into. He learned that the hard way during his first childhood. 

"You think that's it? That's why we like... liked... to wear the clothes we do... did?" 

"I still like them. I'm just open to other things sometimes now. And yeah. I think that's it."

"I liked to think it's because we were used to it. We weren't given a lot of choice most of the times when it came to clothes shopping while we were little." Jackson sighed and after a pause, added, "Maybe you're right, though. Did you and Doctor Svenson ever talk about... ?"

"No, not really. She tried to prod and probe a few times. But I'm not keen about talking first childhood stuff."

"Yeah, I know."

They fell silent, and Daniel felt a little tired after all. "I guess if I really want to talk about it one day, I'll talk to Jack," he mumbled after a moment. "I know Doctor Svenson thinks it would be good to work through my first childhood. But I think there's really no reason for that. I have enough to work through already. Jack frankly told her it's my choice. She didn't like that, but she accepted it."

"She's a psychologist. She won't give up on it. She'll use every tiny bit of information you give her to draw her own picture." Jackson cautioned.

"I know. As long as she doesn't insist I give her a report in living colors, I don't really care."

"She's nice though. Not so demanding."

"Yeah. She helps with some things." For a moment they circled around Daniel's therapy, and he gave Jackson small insights into what he was doing with Svenson. 

Since Jackson knew her, too, and even visited her after his up-sizing, there was no need to hold back on things. It was just not a subject either of them enjoyed discussing, so they dropped it pretty soon.

Daniel was already drifting towards sleep when the soft voice of his future version asked, "Can you do me a favor, Daniel? Could you... share a few things... I mean... I really don't want to drag you into talking about how you're coping with this new childhood. We talked a little on Christmas. I just want to understand how it works. In daily life. How do you live with being restricted that much?"

"Oh, I got used to it. Jack's just worried. And it's different. I'm different. This body needs more of everything. Sleep, food. It's really annoying at times," Daniel tried to explain.

"Yes, I know that. But you know that, too. So couldn't you just take care of yourself? I mean... you're not stupid, right? And you have all the knowledge, all the memories... shouldn't you handle life without needing a babysitter? I know Jack has to be there for the record and that he is good about taking care of you. But he's... overdoing it a bit, maybe?"

Daniel absently stroked Flyboy's head. The dog was lying next to him, his head on Daniel's chest. When the boy rubbed between his ears, Flyboy yawned and let out a contented snuffle. 

"It's... complicated. Hey, I don't mind telling you stuff. What do you want to know?"

"Um, I don't know. What you do. I mean, aside from working. How you spent the last year. Things like that. How did you spend your birthday? Why did you get the tree house? I just want to understand what's going on in your life. What was going on in my life for the time I can't remember. If it makes any sense. I want you to... tell me what I was doing all that time apart from being depressed, cranky and obviously... childish." 

Daniel just shrugged that off. Well, he was. Childish. In both the bad and good ways, Jack used to say while rolling his eyes. 

He started with the tree house and how he had bought it with his own money. How they had built it together, well, Teal'c, Sam, and Jack had done most of the work, but he had helped as much as he could. Before he knew it, he had rambled on about how they slept up in the half-built tree house and how Jack had held him in his arms as they had been lying under the stars that first summer. And how a little part of him had been happy, despite all the angst and anger that had raged through him so often back then. 

"We even had a housewarming party," he recalled. "They all came, even Hammond. And I got gifts for the house. I know it might sound silly. But it meant a lot to me. Jack built me a book shelf to put up there. We had barbecue at the tree house. I think everything that happened around the tree house were the best times I had in those months. That, and going to the park. It has a lake and... umm... a playground," Daniel mumbled, suddenly realizing he was giving away a lot here. 

Jack and he still went there. Of course, he didn't swim in the lake or play at the playground now that it was winter. But he still liked feeding the ducks or climbing that very giant, old oak tree by the water.

"We were at the park on my birthday," Daniel continued when Jackson didn't snort or make a smart remark about the mention of "playgrounds." Daniel had never tried the slide again. But he did climb the castle and practiced his balance skills on the long wooden balance beams.

"I managed to do something real cool there on my birthday," he suddenly remembered. "Since I'm little, I have a few motor skill problems. Not bad, though. And practicing balancing or climbing is supposed to help. Teal'c and Janet told me so. I think they plotted with Jack to get me to ‘play’ and do something more fun than working on the kid-sized home trainer at the SGC. Maybe they also wanted me to do it so I would lose some energy in outside activities instead of terrorizing Jack." 

"Ouch." Jackson winced. "You're really a pain in the... neck, huh?"

"Yeah. Have been anyway. I'm not sure, but I don't think it's that bad anymore. You know I've never been an easy kid," Daniel muttered.

"No. And nobody would put up with us for long, except for very few people. And even there, we couldn't stay for some reason," Jackson said gloomily. 

That was when Daniel's phone beeped. Without bothering to look at the caller's ID, he answered it with, "Hey, are you safe and sound?"

"Yeah. Weather was okay, and I got here on time. Hotel's nice. How ya doin'?"

"I'm fine. Don't roll your eyes, I mean it. We painted Jackson's office, and I filled the wall cracks in his living room with spackling. We might put an airbrush on the living room wall. I don't know what it will be yet, but we have to figure out how to do it." Daniel said all of this in nearly one breath. 

"Well, you might ask Carter about that. She's working on her motor bike, and I think she and Siler put an airbrush on the tank," Jack suggested.

"Oh, really? I'll tell him. Hey, you know what? We're in bed already. It's a little like being off world. I mean, the sleeping bags and just a candle for light. Flyboy's asleep already."

"Daniel..."

"Jack?"

"Did you have coffee for dinner?"

"Um, no, why? I had some for lunch, that's all," Daniel said, a little puzzled.

"Ah. Then you're just feeling good, eh? Talking a mile a minute either means you're lecturing, high on coffee, or in a good mood." Jack grinned. Yep, Daniel could hear Jack grinning. 

"Very funny," he pouted, rolling his eyes, even though he knew Jack couldn't see it.

"Now who’s rolling his eyes, huh?" 

Daniel smiled as he said, "Don't stay up too long, or you’ll fall asleep tomorrow at the meeting. How did it go today?"

"Well, Kinsey still wants to shut the gate down and the President is still on our side. So I'd say things are going as smoothly as they can with that slime bucket involved."

Daniel felt himself grip the phone harder. "Jack... be careful, okay? Kinsey is dangerous."

"I know that, kiddo. I'll pick you up around sixteen hundred. Say hi to Jackson and give the dog a pat from me, will ya? And be good. Beware of the bed bugs."

"Yeah, you too," Daniel said. "Bye, Jack."

He shut down his phone and placed it next to his head on the floor. Carefully he pulled Amab out from under the thick fabric of the sleeping bag. Telling himself that Jackson knew about the stuffed monkey already and that there was no reason to feel embarrassed about it, he placed Amab b y the phone. 

"Jack says hi," he told his counterpart.

"He always called when he was in Washington. I never got it really. He used to call me in the middle of the night sometimes and tell me to get some sleep. Not that it was a big secret that I often work at nights... but he always seemed to catch the exact moment when I was nearly falling asleep over my laptop. Sometimes I thought he was setting his alarm clock to call me," Jackson recalled, his voice softened by a smile. 

"Yeah. So no change about the mother-henning." Daniel grinned.

"Hey, tell me about your birthday? What did you do? Sounds like it was fun, after all," Jackson said in a lighter tone. 

"It was. With all the trouble Jack and I had back then, that was a good day... mostly." Daniel snuggled deeper into his sleeping bag and buried his hands in Flyboy's thick fur as he tried to decide where to begin the story of his first birthday in this awkward second childhood adventure.

"I remember how Jack asked me what I wanted to do on my birthday and I told him zilch, nada, nothing, njet. I didn't want a party, or gifts, or people to congratulate me for becoming eight or thirty-five. I was going to ignore that day, period. Do you remember our first eighth birthday? How we spent it?" 

Jackson rolled to his side and propped up on one elbow as he looked at Daniel. "Oh, yes. At the orphanage. I'd just got there a few weeks ago, after... I got a little cake and a card. And oh, that guy..."

"Jason," Daniel muttered. "Jason Garwich. He stole my birthday present. It was a new journal. He stole it and drew a large X on each page with his crayons so it was ruined. He also got the biggest piece of the birthday cake." 

"Yes. That annoying little brat also told me it was tradition to share half of your Christmas goodies with the oldest kid at the orphanage. Do you remember?" 

"Oh, yeah. Anyway... When Jack asked me about my birthday, I frankly told him I didn't want a birthday, and he just said...

  
  


_..."Okay. No birthday. How about we take the day off and spend it somewhere you like?"_

_Daniel shook his head. He was doing translations for SG-11, and they were really important. Not. But he liked to think they were, so he told Jack he didn’t want to take the day off. "All I want is to be left alone, Jack. I'll work, and then we'll go home, and besides, your leg is still not completely healed. You should take it easy."_

_"My leg's fine. I'm not even limping anymore. But whatever you say, Daniel. So work it is. But I can't promise you’ll be left alone all day. All your friends know it's your birthday in three days."_

_Daniel slammed the book he was reading on the coffee table. "Jack, please. Can't you tell them to just leave me alone? I really don't care about my birthday. Especially not this one. It was a terrible day the first time around and..."_

_"Why don't you see if we can make it better this time around, Space monkey?" Jack tried._

_"Oh yeah? Like what? Throwing a kids’ party with a clown and a big cake? Playing games and eating hot dogs until I throw up? No, Jack. I was eight a long time ago and I can't celebrate my birthday with you like we used to - so I'll pass, thank you very much. I'm sorry."_

_"O-kay, it's no big deal. We can go out for dinner and just pretend you’re turning thirty-five - which you really will be. You can even have a glass of wine. How's that sound?" Jack offered._

_Daniel didn't appreciate it though, and before he could hold back, he sniped, "Oh, great. And what will I get for dessert? A blow job? Forget it, Jack. I. Won’t. Celebrate. This. Birthday."...._

...."You didn't really say that, did you?" Jackson gasped. 

Daniel blushed, glad the other guy couldn't see it in the dim room. The candlelight was flickering over the dark walls. "Um, yeah, I did. I said a lot of things at the time. Most of them... well... some of them, I didn't really mean. Jack wasn't happy about it either, and he said, “Fine, if that's what you want, you'll get nothing. End of story.” I was satisfied with that...

_... The 8th of July was a hot summer day with cloudless blue skies and lots of birds singing in Jack's backyard very early in the morning. The birds’ racket woke Daniel at the unearthly time of six thirty. He was just about to turn over to get another few minutes of sleep when there was a knock at his door, and the always early bird Jack O'Neill stuck his head in and greeted him with a horribly cheerful, "Wakey wakey, sleepy head. We have a few hours before it gets too hot. I called the mountain and told them we'll be in later. I packed our backpacks for a breakfast picnic at the park."_

_Rubbing his eyes, Daniel groaned. "Oh, come on, Jaaack, I'm still sleeping."_

_"No, you're not. You already talk in whole sentences. So not sleeping," Jack said briskly as he crossed the room and waved a cup of coffee under Daniel’s nose. "Here. This'll get you going."_

_Daniel yawned but sat up and took the cup. "Can we go swimming?"_

_"Sure we can. Put on your trunks. I already packed some underwear for later. Drink up, kiddo. Time's-a-wasting, they say."_

_"God, you're annoying this early in the morning," Daniel grumbled as he took another sip of his coffee. "Uh, Jack... this is really nice, actually. Thank you."_

_Jack grinned. "At your service, Doctor Jackson. Put on shorts. It'll get hot."_

_"You know I don't wear shorts outside the yard." Daniel sighed. "They look... yucky.”_

_"Suffer if you want." Jack shrugged._

_"You don't wear shorts either," Daniel argued as he slurped his coffee._

_"Well, it's way too early to have an argument like this, don'tcha think? Get dressed and put sun block on your arms. front and legs. I'll do your back when we're there." Jack left the room, shaking his head._

_Daniel finished his coffee and grimaced. He hated sun block. He would just skip it. And risk getting sunburned, a warning voice nagged at him. Well, he'd just stay in the shadows of the trees after swimming. Yep, that should work. No need for smeary, yucky sun block. He ignored the sun block bottle in the bathroom and hurried to get dressed and grab a book he could read after the swimming When he_ _entered_ _the hallway, their backpacks were already sitting next to the front door and Jack pocketed his sunglasses into his shirt._

_Daniel wrestled his book into his pack, and after a quick breakfast, they were in the truck and on their way to the park. For a moment he was a little anxious. He really hoped Jack hadn't organized a surprise party somewhere and that's where they were really going. But he calmed down when he realized they were driving to the park. Surely no one would jump out from behind the trees or bushes with a cake and candles and sing 'Happy Birthday' to him..._

_Daniel liked the park. He liked the early mornings or late evenings when the playgrounds were mostly deserted. The few kids or teens who were there then didn't pay attention to him. He liked swimming in the lake without all the people who came in the afternoons to sunbathe or to let their loud, little kids play in the sand and water._

_Even though it was still early it was already very warm as they put their backpacks on one of the wooden picnic tables. When they had both stripped down to their trunks, Jack pulled the towels and_ _the dreaded_ _bottle of sun block out of his own pack. "Let me rub some on your back before we go swimming."_

_"No, I did it at home." The lie was out faster than Daniel could think, and he felt his ears getting hot._

_"You did? On your back?" Up went the eyebrow._

_"Yes," Daniel snapped._

_Jack looked at the bottle with sun lotion and then back at Daniel, who knew he had red ears by now. "O-kay. If you say so. Would you mind rubbing some on my back then?"_

_Daniel did so and wiped his smeary hands at his own belly and chest afterward. So he took on a little sun block. He would stay in the shade, he swore to himself. No big deal, and Jack had even swallowed the lie, which was like a little miracle._

_They went into the cool lake and began splashing water at each other. While Daniel shrieked and tried to avoid the cold, wet attacks of his friend, he forgot about the sun lotion lie and gave in to a very childish urge to get Jack O'Neill as wet as he could. He shoveled water up with both hands and splashed it at Jack, who went down into the lake a moment later, pretending to be hit by an invisible force._

_They fooled around for a while in the water before Jack made Daniel swim with him. It was part of the exercise program Teal’c had devised for his "young warrior," as he sometimes called him. Fraiser had supervised the whole setup and nodded her approval to most of it. She drew the line at combat lessons with real Jaffa training weapons. Teal'c had said they would begin with that much later. First, Daniel had to gain strength, not only in muscles, but also in confidence of his mind. Therefore, he had to practice balancing, swimming and climbing. To get secure about his body, so Teal'c had said._

_It actually sounded reasonable to Daniel._

_So they swam for a while until Jack decided it was enough. Daniel's natural and by now, almost automatic response was that he was fine and could do some more rounds, but Jack said, "Your lips are already blue, and your teeth are clattering."_

_"Why am I getting cold so easily?" Daniel whined as they headed out. Jack wrapped him into a big, fluffy towel and rubbed him dry._

_"You've always gotten cold easily, buddy, even when you were big. Now, even though you’ve grown some muscle mass, you're still a fly weight. Not much there to keep ya warm," Jack explained as he held the towel around Daniel so he could pull off his trunks._

_Once dry and dressed they got out the blanket from Jack's pack and searched for a nice spot on the grass in the morning sun. It was already getting hot, and while they ate sandwiches, some fruits and cookies, Daniel got warm again._

_"I thought this was going to be a surprise party. I was really worried," he said as he munched on his sandwich._

_"Nah. If I say there's no party, there's no party," Jack replied lazily. He was lying on his back, hands clasped behind his head, and gazed up into the sky._

_Daniel reached for the chain around Jack's neck and pulled his dog tags out of his shirt. He brushed over the metallic plates and thought about how he had never liked to wear his own in the field. Even the word “dog tags” made him feel like he was wearing a collar with tags. And unlike Jack, who wore his all the time, Daniel only put them on when he was going off world._

_Now that he didn't have to wear them anymore, he sometimes missed them. As a man, he had always had a thing for Jack's dog tags. Like he’_ _d_ _had a thing for Jack in dress blues. Now that he thought about it, it was a weird liking for somebody who really didn't like the military and its policies most of the time._

_After a while Daniel pulled off his shirt. He was really getting warm now. As he pulled out a few grass blades next to the blanket, his stomach knotted, and he mumbled, "You wanted to throw me a party, didn't you?"_

_"Don't worry about it, kiddo," Jack said, his eyes half closed as he obviously enjoyed the sun on his face._

_"But... maybe Sam and Teal'c wanted it, too," Daniel followed his train of thought. "I didn't want to hurt their feelings. Or yours. It's just..."_

_"They understand, Daniel. Relax, okay?" Jack told him and turned on his side to look at Daniel. "You made it very clear you didn't want a party, so no - we didn't plan one."_

_"Okay," Daniel whispered, plucking more grass._

_He had the feeling that he had done it again. Offended his friends or hurt their feelings without realizing it. They would have wanted him to have a party. He wasn't up for it. Yet he felt bad about his own refusal to have one. He must have sighed loudly because the next thing he felt was Jack's hand lifting up his chin and making him look into his friend's brown, sincere eyes._

_"Hey. This is your birthday. If there's a party, it's because you want one. This is about you and noo_ _ne_ _else, okay? Sam and T. know how you feel about this, and so do I. It's your choice, and nobody will question it. Got that?"_

_"Okay, Jack. Thanks," he mumbled._

_"Sweet. Now, if you're finished eating and warmed up enough, why don't we go and see if the playground is clear for exploration? We still have an hour left."_

_"Only if there are no other kids," Daniel warned, frowning as he rose and helped Jack to pack away the food bags and roll up the blanket. "And I’m going to try again today."_

_"Of course. I know the drill," Jack answered easily, knowing what Daniel was talking about from previous visits._

_Jack handed him his shirt. He put it on, remembering that he needed to be careful about the sun._

_They shouldered their backpacks and walked alongside the lake to the nearest playground. There were a few women with toddlers in the sandbox who were smart enough to come out early and avoid the midday heat later. The swing set, the play castle and the obstacle course were deserted._

_The obstacle course was where Daniel saw his challenge today. As it had been the last few times they'd come here. The monkey bars. Today he would beat his own body and make it from one end to the other. His arms and hands would obey him this time, instead of getting longer and longer until his fingers would slip from the iron bars and he'd fall into the sand._

_Not this time._

_He looked around and made sure nobody was watching him before he turned to Jack and took a deep breath. "I'm ready. I'll take my shirt off though so I can move better." He pulled it off and Jack caught it before it could hit the warm sand. Daniel twisted his head to take a look at his shoulders. They looked okay and didn't feel taut either. So he guessed it was okay to take the shirt off even though there was no shade around here._

_"Hey, I brought some chalk this time. Took it from the gym. It'll help your hands stay dry," Jack offered._

_Daniel shook his head. "It's a stupid kiddie playground course."_

_Jack hung the shirt over the lifting bar and then picked Daniel up around his waist. "It was just an idea."_

_"Other kids don't have chalk for their hands and manage to do this. I will too. Now."_

_"Right. Whatever you say. Up ya go," Jack muttered as Daniel's small fingers closed around the first blue bar. "Say when I can let you go."_

_Daniel bent and stretched his fingers a few times and grabbed the bar tightly._

_"Now," he ordered._

_Jack let go of him and Daniel started swinging back and forth until he was sure he would reach the next bar with his left hand._

_"YES! Good start," Jack cheered him on._

_Daniel bit down_ _on_ _his lip as he hung between the two bars. He let go of the first one with his right hand and grabbed the second one. Then he started swaying again. Left hand on to the next bar... more praising from Jack... right hand followed... more swaying.... left hand grabbed the fourth bar... right hand... His hands started to get sweaty._

_"Just take it easy, kiddo. You're doing good. Don't sway too much...Yeah, that's it... come on... three more..."_

_His left hand reached out for the next bar and missed. Hanging by one arm, Daniel moaned and gritted his teeth. He swayed back and forth, back, forth... but the fingers of his right hand slipped..._

_With a loud thud, Daniel landed on his butt in the sand. Jack stood back and didn't catch him. Daniel had told him not to when they had done this the first time. It was dumb enough that his friend had to lift him up so he could reach the bars. There was no ladder to climb. Only a thick rope with knots. On the other side there was a wooden climbing wall with little handles for hand and feet attached to the monkey bars and you had to either jump down or climb the wall to reach the opening of a playhouse. It was a course for older kids. That was for sure._

_Daniel knew that once he'd climbed the rope, he wouldn't have the strength for the monkey bars. He was such a wuss these days. He hoped that would change with Teal'c's help though._

_Drying his sweaty hands on his jeans, he hissed, "Again, Jack."_

_Jack picked him up again and brushed the sand from his jeans. Daniel wished he had put on shorts all of a sudden. Or that he'd just stayed in his boxers after the swimming._

_He stared at the next bar when he was hanging there again. Left hand - deep breath - right hand - swaying - left hand - deep breath - right hand - swaying - left hand... the bars were slippery and suddenly very hot under his fingers... why was it so warm... why did he have to sweat so damn much... right hand - swaying..._

_Thud._

_Without a comment Jack picked him up again._

_The third and fourth time, he fell right after the second bar._

_Sitting in the sand, Daniel felt tears sting his eyes, but blinked them away. He rubbed his hands on his jeans again. They burned a little now, but not much. Wiping his nose with his arm, he got up._

_"I try again."_

_"Show me your hands, Daniel," Jack said gently._

_"They're fine. Again."_

_"Last time, you got blisters."_

_"I don't care if I get blisters! I don't give a damn," Daniel yelled._

_He really didn't get this. He was able to run, he could still roll over his shoulder and hold a Zat. And he knew how to do monkey bars. There was a training camp on P34X-… something, they had all gone to last year. There had been an obstacle course similar to this, only made for adults. He could do it when he had been big. Jack had helped him train his body a long time ago. Why not now? Why, oh, why? He was so much smaller now, which meant less weight. Jack had just said it himself. Shouldn't he manage to do this?_

_When Jack crouched in front of him and took Daniel's hands to examine them, he jerked them away._

_"I'm not a baby! I can do it again! Right now!"_

_But Jack didn't think so. And Jack said he wouldn't help him up again until he calmed down and used the chalk. Daniel didn't need the stupid chalk and... "All I want is to make it this one time! Don't you get it?! It can't be too hard! I want you to help me up there - NOW!"_

_"Daniel, it's hot, and if you're ticked like this, you won't be able to make it. All I'm asking you to do is take a break," Jack told him, voice still calm._

_"Nononono! I don't need a break! This is just a stupid kids’ course! I know how to do it!"_

_Finally Jack picked him up, but instead of helping him hang from the bars again, Jack carried him over to a yellow playhouse with benches around it. There was shade and the young mothers at the sandbox couldn't see them. Daniel didn't care about shade or privacy. He kicked and wriggled, but was wedged under Jack's left arm with no way to go._

_"Jack! Let me down! Why can't you just help me up there!"_

_He was put back on his feet when they reached the benches. Jack sat down and Daniel knew what was coming next. Jack took Daniel’s arms and pulled him close so that he was standing between Jack’s knees and couldn't run or turn away. "Daniel, I want you to calm down, okay? Listen to me. You can try again as soon as you stop ranting."_

_"No! No!" Daniel tried to get his arms free, but he was stuck._

_"Daniel, come on. I know you're angry, and I know you want to do this. But you won't make it like this. You're just wasting your strength."_

_"You can't tell me when to stop! You don't have the right to... to...”_

_"I can, and I will. We won't move an inch until you’ve calmed down," Jack_ said, not so calm anymore. 

_Daniel took several deep breaths and tried to control the flaring anger inside "I'm calm," he finally managed to say. The problem was, he didn't sound calm at all. He could hear his own voice trembl_ _e_ _with emotions._

_"You gonna use the chalk?"_

_"I. Don't. Need..." Daniel started, but was interrupted before he could finish._

_"Then it's a no go, and we'll leave right now."_

_"Jätkä," Daniel hissed in Finnish, then went on cursing in several different languages, "Tu me fais chier... perite... Coglione...!"_

_Jack gave him a light shake and raised his voice a few notches. "Right, that's enough. I don't even want to know what you're saying, but I think I get the message. Stop it. Now."_

_"Ja-hosh," Daniel sneered, knowing at the same time that calling Jack a jackass in Arabic wasn't the smartest thing to do...._

...Jackson snorted and fell back on his sleeping bag when Daniel came to this point in the story. "God, you didn't, did you? You know he speaks Arabic... But Finnish, French, Latin and... Italian? Wow." 

"Yeah, well, you know... I was firing them off very fast and very loudly. I lost it sometimes back then. Little incidents could throw me off the loop like nothing, and then I was flying off the handle." Daniel blushed.

Jackson suddenly sat upright and rubbed a hand through his hair. "Wait a minute… I did. I mean, it's a little weird to wrap my head around that…"

Daniel blinked. "What?"

"It was me. Not  _you_ who had that tantrum. Okay, it was you. But also me. I really behaved like that? And I did it all the time?" Jackson fell back on his bed, groaning. "Oh god. This is awkward." 

"Ya think," Daniel channeled Jack. 

He remembered how mad he had been. About his failure at the monkey bars, about Jack holding him in place and forcing him to be still, about his birthday and about feeling like a wuss. He could still recall how the tears had threatened to come but how he couldn't let his frustration out the simple way. He wanted to kick something, to yell and to run...

_...and at the same time he wanted Jack to stop him. Maybe that was why he finally went on to Arabic and then blurted out some more swear words in English._

_"Daniel!"_

_"You stupid son of a..."_

_When Jack's hand came down on Daniel's backside with the loudest smack possible, the dam broke and the tears began to spill. Every urge to fight and struggle left him at once, and he staggered against Jack, who caught him and held him as he cried, talking all that soothing nonsense Daniel needed to hear, even though he would have denied it with his last breath. Calloused hands stroked his sweaty hair and rubbed his back until Daniel calmed down, and his sobs turned into hiccups and then subsided._

_"I can't even do stupid monkey bars," Daniel whispered brokenly into Jack's shirt. "I'm just good for nothing. I'll never be able to go off world again. I hate being eight. I hate it. I want to be thirty-five again, Jack. I don't want to have tantrums... or... or breakdowns... I want to be me again."_

_Jack didn't say anything. He didn't have to. They had been through this countless times, and Jack couldn't help Daniel. They both knew it, and they both agonized over the knowledge, still. After a while, Daniel let Jack clean him up with a tissue and sat on his lap, snuggled against him._

_"Show me your hands, Danny," Jack coaxed a moment later. This time Daniel held them out to be examined._

_"No real blisters yet. How ya feeling?"_

_"Better," Daniel sniffed. "I'm sorry."_

_"'s okay. Here's what we can do. We'll get your cap out of the backpack and you'll put on your shirt again. You have slightly red shoulders already. You can drink something, and if you're up to it, we try the monkey bars again. How does that sound?" Jack said._

_Daniel blinked up at him. "We're not leaving?"_

_While they walked to the packs they had left near the obstacle course, Jack ruffled his hair. "You got a smack. And it's your birthday. Let's not dwell. Hey, you have to teach me some of those words you were using."_

_"Uhh, maybe when I'm, uh, big again," Daniel muttered and tried a smile. They sat down on one of the benches near the sandbox._

_After having half a bottle of water and the rest of his sandwich, Daniel felt much better. Jack put some of the chalk on his hands and said, "Just one more try, kiddo. You will make it one day. If not today, then next week. You're beat already, and we have to leave in a couple of minutes. So let's get this straight right now. Once. No buts and no tantrums."_

_"Okay, Jack. One try," Daniel repeated sincerely._

_"Ready?"_

_"Ready!"_

_The chalk was actually helping. His hands weren't so sweaty anymore. Daniel concentrated on his left hand- deep breath - right hand - swaying - left hand - deep breath - right hand - swaying..._

_"Two more to go," Jack cheered from somewhere, but his voice seemed far away, and all Daniel could think was; left hand..._

_When he hung on the last bar and his feet made contact with the climbing wall on the other side of the monkey bars, he couldn't believe it. His arms felt like pudding, and his breath was coming in hitching, little pants._

_ _

_"You did it!" Jack grabbed him around his middle and lifted him high over his head. "Daniel Jackson O'Neill beat the monkey bars!"_

_"I did it! Jack, how fast was I? Do you think I could do it again right now? Oh, wow! I never thought I'd make it!"_

_Jack hugged him close and patted the back of his head. "See? I never doubted you'd make it one day, Space monkey! You just have to trust me!"_

_Daniel grinned, and for the moment he was so relaxed that he didn't even protest when Jack carried him back to the picnic tables instead of putting him down right away._

_When they reached the mountain, Daniel had a meeting with two anthropologists. Then he was occupied with translation work for the rest of the day._

_As he was sitting at his desk after lunch, he realized his shoulders were burning a little, but not too bad_ _ly_ _. He would keep quiet about it. Jack might get angry if he found out that Daniel hadn't put sun block on this morning and had lied about it._

_He had just started another translation when the door opened and Janet walked in briskly, Cassie on her heels. "Hello, Daniel. I heard you have some small blisters on your fingers? Let me take a look."_

_Cassie hugged him. He cringed a little. She smelled like bubblegum and perfume. "Hey, kid. I am helping mom clean out some stuff from her office. Not the classified things, of course. I thought I'll stop by. How're you doing?"_

_"I'm good. Don't call me kid, kid," he told Cassie and stared at her over the rim of his glasses._

_She laughed and slumped on his couch. "Do you have some cookies, Daniel?"_

_"Yeah. Right next to you on the shelf. No, Janet, my hands are fine. No real blisters. See?" He held out his hands for her, knowing she wouldn't back off until she had looked at them._

_"Hmm, they are a little red though. But you're right, Doctor Jackson. They’ll heal on their own. Oh!" She grabbed something she had placed on his desk when she came in. "Cassie and I made this last winter. I wanted her to take it to college next year, but she decided it's ugly. You think you'd like to keep it_ _for the_ _tree house?"_

_Daniel hopped down from his swivel chair and took the blue quilt in both hands. It was from a smooth fabric. Light and dark blue plaid. It would be nice to have a warm blanket in the tree house in fall. He smiled up at Janet. Oh, yes. Even Janet was taller than he was._

_"Thank you, Janet. Very much. I like it." Turning to Cassie, he added, "You, too, Cass. Thanks."_

_She waved at him. "Ah, no biggie. I didn't like it anyway. You're doing me a favor."_

_Yeah, right, Daniel thought but didn't say it out loud. He carefully folded the quilt and placed it on the couch. Then he remembered his manners and offered them coffee. He would have loved one too, but since he didn't want a lecture about too much caffeine from the Napoleonic power monger, he opted for a glass of orange juice instead._

_Munching cookies and enjoying their drinks a moment later, they sat on the couch and talked about the newest gossip at the mountain. Cassie was all ears and giggled her way through some of the stories Janet had to tell._

_A few minutes after Janet and Cassie had left and he had gone back to work, Sam poked her head in, a bright smile on her face._

_Oh, here we go again, Daniel thought, aware that this was one of Jack's lines he sometimes used himself now. "Hi, Sam. How are you?"_

_She came in, holding her hands behind her back. "I'm good. What about you? Did you have a nice morning?"_

_Daniel swiveled around in his chair, answering, "Yeah. We went to the park and had a picnic."_

_"Cool."_

_"Jack told you I managed the monkey bars at the obstacle course, right?" Daniel had to grin when a light shade of pink covered her cheeks for a moment._

_"Uh, yeah. Congratulations. He was real proud of you, you know. And by the way, I think it's okay that he shares things like that with us, Daniel. Don't you think so, too?" She sounded a bit defensive._

_Looking down at his hands in his lap, he finally nodded. "Yes. I think it is."_

_They both knew it wasn't easy for him to share his little ups and downs with the rest of them. Not because he didn't trust or love Sam and Teal'c or Janet. But he still wished he was his old self. He hadn't been an overly self-secure guy, nor had he been free of problems or doubts. But he had been okay with himself most of the time over the last few years. He had felt safe with SG-1 and Jack. He’d had a good life, an exciting life._

_Now... now he was different and he didn't want to be different. He tried not to let them see how different he was. Only Jack saw those other sides of him almost everyday. Daniel wanted to pretend, at least at the mountain and with his friends, that he was still Daniel Jackson as they knew him. That he was only handicapped body wise._

_He knew it was a farce though. They all knew. He had let his guard down more than once over the last months. Since he couldn't go off world anymore, he felt even more like a kid at times. Yet there were moments when he started to actually feel more comfortable in his skin._

_Jack had said not to run from this life. That since he couldn't change it, he had to live with it and move on. Daniel knew Jack was right. And he tried harder. Next week they would finally start seeing that kiddie shrink, which was something he was nervous about. But he had promised Jack to give the therapy a serious try - for both of them._

_Swallowing down the dark thoughts, Daniel offered Sam a coffee and cookies._

_"Oh, I thought you'd like new ones." She smiled and handed him a bag with chocolate walnut cookies and another small package. "I saw this the other day and thought you would like it."_

_Daniel carefully unwrapped the gift. It was a space pen that was supposed to write in zero gravity and under water. "Wow, thanks, Sam. It's cool," he said, reading the instructions. Then he took a closer look at the silver pen and saw his name carved into it. D. Jackson O'Neill._

_He hugged her, which he didn't do very often. Sam squeezed his shoulder for a moment and said, "Hey, I'm happy you like it, Daniel. Now I'd like you to take a look at something... I already sent it to you in an e-mail. There’s some writing on a device we brought back a couple of weeks ago..."_

_Thankful for the change of subject, Daniel opened the mail, and a moment later they were engrossed in the unknown writings on a gray box. It was some kind of Kurdish-related dialect, and Daniel assured her that he needed only a few hours to get it done._

_"Oh, okay. You can come over later, and I'll show you the real thing. It's harmless," she offered happily._

_Teal'c was next._

_Carrying a tray with commissary food, he entered Daniel's office. "O'Neill has told me to bring you something to eat. He has also demanded I should make sure you will eat at least half of it. I will not leave before you have done so."_

_Daniel looked at macaroni with bacon and cheese and a bowl of chocolate pudding. "That's okay. I am hungry," he said. He really was –_ _despite all the cookies he’d just had_ _._

_As Daniel ate, Teal'c helped himself to a cup of coffee. Daniel was happy that he still had his own coffee machine. Jack had threatened to take it away if Daniel continued to drink more coffee than they had agreed on, but so far hadn't acted on it._

_"You accomplished the obstacle course today," Teal'c's deep voice pulled him out of his musings._

_"Yes. It was no big deal," Daniel said casually._

_"I am sure it was not." Was that a smile he could hear in Teal'c's words? "When you are older and can start training lessons in battle, I will take you to Chulak. You will meet Rya’c and practice with him, DanielJacksonO'Neill."_

_Daniel almost choked on his juice. "Um... I will?"_

_"It will be very helpful for your training. Until then, I want you to have this." The Jaffa walked out and returned a moment later with a wooden stick that looked a little like a staff weapon. It was not as long as the ones Daniel had seen before. He knew that those training sticks were used in practicing battle techniques on Chulak. Young Jaffa warriors used them in hand-to-hand combat. This stick was shorter._

_Kid-sized._

_Daniel slowly got up and took it from his giant friend, not sure if he was honored or afraid about this gift. "Um, thanks, I think. Did you make it?"_

_"Indeed I did. It is made for your size and much easier to handle. We will start to practice with it next week. I will show you how to use it, and you will learn quickly."_

_Daniel brushed his hands over the smooth light wood. He weighed it in his hand and realized that it wasn't as heavy as he thought it would be. There were several carvings on it that he recognized as Chulakian writing. A saying that wished the carrier of the weapon success in battle or an honorable death._

_"It is... great work, Teal'c. I don't know what to say. You do know I'm not a Jaffa warrior... but I appreciate that you'll try to teach me," Daniel said finally, feeling oddly touched._

_Teal'c placed his big hands on Daniel’s shoulders and crouched until they were eye to eye. "Being a warrior is not only the ability to use weapons and kill, Daniel. You are a great warrior already, even though you do not believe it yourself. You have the heart to fight for your beliefs. To fight for the cause. You have the will and the strength to stand by your friends and look your enemies in the eyes. Being a warrior needs all of that. You have changed and you have to adapt to that. Your body needs training, and your mind needs to learn to trust this new body."_

_"I'll keep trying," Daniel promised solemnly._

_"Indeed." Teal'c straightened, clapped Daniel's shoulder and then walked over to the cookie bag._

_At the end of the day, Daniel had gotten a box of chocolates from Siler, a bookstore gift certificate from Hammond, various brands of cookies and other sweets from a few of his old staff members, and a new pencil box from Walter. Everyone who stopped by his office that day came up with more or less unique stories for why they "just dropped by" and had something for Daniel that nobody else wanted or that they just happened to find this morning before leaving for work._

_It was the nicest bunch of lies Daniel had heard in a while._

_Jack, who had been in briefings all day, strolled in around six to find Daniel sitting on his couch, munching pralines he had gotten from the nurses with a note that he shouldn't let his blood sugar get too low._

_"Hey, grasshopper, how was your day?" Jack asked as he stole a praline from another open box and popped it into his mouth._

_"I was a good little boy and ate almost all of the macaroni and the pudding. And you know I had a great day. Look what Teal'c made for me, Jack," Daniel answered, his mouth full of pralines._

_Jack grabbed the wooden mini staff weapon and swirled it around a few times. "Wow. Cool."_

_"Yep." He jumped up and showed Jack the space pen, the quilt and the other presents. "I feel embarrassed about this," he finally sighed. "I should have thrown a party, don't you think? They are all so nice and gave me so many things."_

_Jack shook his head and took another praline. "I told you to stop worrying about it... mhh, these are good. Who brought them?"_

_"One's from the nurses and the other one from Siler. Said his mother got them and didn't like them." Daniel snorted._

_"Her loss then." Jack shrugged. Daniel slapped his hand as he reached out for another one. "Jack! Don't eat them all. Here, take a cookie from Sam."_

_After Jack had helped Daniel to collect all his gifts, they left the mountain and headed home._

_While Jack prepared dinner later that night Daniel was lying on his bed, his chin resting on his arms. He was a little tired, and he also felt yucky because of the cold, sticky mass of yogurt covering his shoulders. It had felt good at first because it took the sting away. But he had to lie still on his belly for twenty minutes so the yogurt wouldn't drip down on the floor or the bedcovers._

_Jack had noticed Daniel's red shoulders when he'd come out of the shower. So Jack explained that putting cold plain yogurt on the burn would help ease the sting and make the skin heal faster. Daniel had argued that it didn't really hurt. His skin felt only a little warm and slightly taut._

_"When can I wash it off, Jack?" he had whined when his friend gently applied the yogurt._

_"In a while. It will help, trust me."_

_"It wasn't really bad!"_

_"If you'd put sun block on this morning or let me do it at the lake, it wouldn't be red at all."_

_Busted! Daniel had sighed. Jack had known he had been lying and had let it go so Daniel would get a sunburn. He should have known. Jack wasn't one to be fooled easily and he also was a friend of "natural consequences."_

_Jack had wiped his hands at a towel and said smugly, "Live and learn, young Doctor Jackson. Or should that be re-learn? Because I assume you’ve gotten sunburned before and know what the sun block is for."_

_"Yeah, yeah," Daniel had grumbled and felt the heat of embarrassment creep into his cheeks._

_"I figured getting your back burned a little for lying to me would do you some good." Jack had smirked and gotten up from the edge of the bed where he had been sitting. "I'll come back when you can wash it off."_

_"Can I have a book?"_

_"Nope. Just get some rest until dinner is ready."_

_So here he was now._

_Daniel considered getting up and taking a book from his shelf. He could just shove it under his pillow when Jack came back. But if there were any yogurt spots on the floor, Jack wouldn't be too happy and Daniel decided he really had pushed his luck enough for today. So he stayed where he was supposed to be and thought what an odd day it had been._

_ Jack had tricked him into enjoying his birthday without forcing him to have a party. But that was okay. Daniel didn't like being manipulated, but when Jack did it, they both usually knew it.  _ _Jack seemed to have conspired with the whole SGC to make this day special for him without going into the whole birthday thing. It was ridiculous. But it was also so very Jack, and Daniel couldn't help but love him even more for this._

_A moment later Jack returned with a damp towel. "Hey, buddy. You suffered enough.” He wiped the yogurt off Daniel's shoulders and said. “Looks much better already. Get dressed and come out for dinner.”_

_Daniel really felt the sting had gone and the burned area wasn't as warm anymore. Still, he thought the yogurt wasn't necessary, and it had been more of a time-out_ _for being a brat_ _._

_He was no dummy. But that was okay, too._

_Dinner was a quick event with salad, grilled steaks and fresh bread. After they had cleaned the table and Daniel had loaded the dishwasher, he came back out and found a_ _small_ _chocolate cake sitting in the middle of the table. Jack must have gotten it out of the fridge while he'd been busy with the dishes. It was frosted with so much chocolate that Daniel felt his mouth_ water at just the thought of e _ating it._

_"Dessert," Jack said brightly and started slicing it into pieces. There were no candles on the cake, but there didn't have to be any. They both knew. There was no point in rubbing it in that Daniel was turning eight today when he should be thirty-five._

_"That looks yummy," Daniel commented and ran to get new plates and forks._

_He managed two_ _small_ _slices of cake and rubbed his belly with a contented sigh afterward. "Thanks, Jack. This must be the best cake I've ever had."_

_"Half of it is on your face though," Jack chuckled and handed him a napkin._

_Daniel shrugged and wiped his face. "I'm sorry I lied about the sun block."_

_"Ah, but if the lesson is learned, it was worth the trouble, right? You make wrong choices, you have to live with the results. I really didn't want to start a fight about sun block that early, so sue me." Jack smirked. Then he got up and told Daniel he would be right back._

_When he returned, he was holding a long flat metallic something in his hand. "I wanted to give it to you during the tree house-warming party, but it wasn't finished then. So now you have to pretend it's a birthday gift, I'm afraid."_

_Daniel looked at it, and a huge smile appeared on his face as he received yet another thing with his name on it. It was a name plate that said; "Refuge of Daniel Jackson - Stay out!"_

_"Jack! Is that for the tree house? Will you put it on there tonight? Please? Can we sleep up there too? I have my own name plate! Cool," he rambled on as he let go of all his "mature" attitude and whisked around the table to_ _hug_ _Jack like a bouncy, happy seven ... no, wait a minute... eight year old..._

..."Jack and I attached the name plate the very same night and we slept on the porch of the tree house. We did that from time to time last summer. It’s real fun. Next summer you can come and try it too - if you like," Daniel finished, yawning widely.

"Maybe," Jackson said thoughtfully and blew out the candles. "Thanks for sharing this with me, Daniel. Would you tell me more sometime?"

Daniel snuggled against the dog and hugged Amab with his other arm. "Sure," he said. "Anytime."

**II**

Jack looked around Jackson's bedroom one last time to make sure they'd packed everything.

"Thanks for taking him in," he said.

"Hey, anytime. You know, he could stay here when you guys are off world if he wants to," Jackson offered with a shy smile. "I'll remember the coffee rule and make sure he gets enough sleep."

"You can't even get yourself to have enough sleep," Jack snorted, but then shrugged. "We have to talk about it. You sure? He can be a terrific pain in the ass."

" _He_ is right here," Daniel announced from behind the two men as he wedged himself between them and showed his hands to Jack. "Better?"

Inspecting Daniel's now almost clean hands, Jack nodded. He had refused to let the Wretch into his truck while he looked like somebody had painted him instead of the walls. Now at least his hands and face were clean. 

"We'll get along," Jackson replied to Jack's previous comment.

"I think it's a cool idea." Daniel nodded. "We can drive to and from work together and..."

"And work through the night together once you got home. I don't know, Daniel. We'll talk about it later. Now let's get you home and under the shower. Take a bath, maybe. You look like a punk with all that yellow in your hair," Jack said wryly, shaking his head. What had he done? Stuck his head into the paint bucket? Even the dog had dots of yellow on his back so he would get a bath too. 

"We finished putting wallpaper on in the living room and painted the first wall just before you showed up, Jack. We'll ask Sam about the airbrush," Daniel prattled on. 

Jackson plucked at his paint-covered shirt. "Daniel was a big help. He's really good at cutting the wallpaper."

"Um, yeah. The first few pieces fell from the table though, and my legs got stuck in them and all the paste was already on them," Daniel muttered, but his voice brightened when he continued, "But I managed eventually. It just took some time."

Jack didn't suppress the smile as he replied, "Patience is a virtue, right?" He was amazed how much calmer Daniel seemed most of the time now. He remembered how often the kid had given up or thrown tantrums if he couldn’t do things he used to be able to handle when he had been big. Like the cooking or those damn monkey bars on the playground. 

Daniel's motor skill problems were really just minor and probably more due to the fact that his mind was still sometimes thinking in 'big' terms opposed to his body being 'small'. But only a couple of months ago even the tiniest little obstacle seemed an ocean wide and a mountain high. 

Jackson checked his watch. "Hey, I don't want to chase you out, but I have to pick up the truck I rented for tomorrow. I have to clean out the garage. The former owner left all kinds of junk in there. I have three more days off and want to get everything to the junkyard by then."

They gathered their bags and the yellow-spotted dog and said their goodbyes. Daniel promised to ask Carter about the airbrushing on Monday and then they were on their way home.

  
  


That evening when Jack got out the hot potato casserole, he heard a long suffering whine from the bathroom, followed by loud barks.

"Jaa-aaack!"

Now what? With a dark foreshadowing, Jack threw the oven mitts aside and quickly crossed the hall. When he opened the bathroom door, the sight made him stop dead in his tracks in the doorway.

Daniel, his hair still damp and sticking out in all direction from his bath, was standing fully clothed, but soaking wet in the bathtub. Flyboy, dripping and covered in what looked like shampoo, stood in the middle of the bathroom between wet towels and puddles of water. Daniel held the shower head in one hand and scolded the dog for not staying in the tub. In answer, Flyboy shook himself, spraying water and foam all over the room and Jack.

Raising both eyebrows, O'Neill took a deep breath. "Daniel? Something wrong?"

"Umm, yesss, actually... Uh, I need your help."

As Jack looked around, his eyebrows wandered even higher. "Really?" 

Putting down the shower head, Daniel muttered, "Jack, don't. I tried to handle this alone, I managed to make a real mess, and I'm sorry, okay? I'm going to clean up. Just help me with Flyboy, please." 

Jack met Daniel's tired blue eyes and decided to give the kid some slack. He pulled off his socks and carefully waded through the flood ~~ s ~~ . "Get out of the tub, Daniel. And you get in, Flyboy." When the dog shook his wet fur once more, Jack grabbed his collar and pulled him over, repeating, "In. Now."

"You'll get a chewing bone later," Daniel bribed as he climbed out of the tub. 

The dog jumped into the tub and sat down, giving Jack the innocent puppy look. He was really getting good at that. 

Jack told Daniel to hold the shower head as he gripped Flyboy's collar tightly. Daniel turned on the shower and rinsed the black fur until there was no foam or paint in it anymore. 

"Now get his towel," Jack instructed. Daniel got it and rubbed his big friend as dry as possible. Flyboy stood there like an angel, not moving an inch until Jack released him. After the dog jumped out of the tub, Daniel took care of his wet clothes while Jack rinsed the tub. 

He waited until Daniel had collected the wet towels and hung them over the radiator before he suggested, "Why don't you put on dry clothes? Then you two go into the living room. I started a fire. Get the old afghan for him so he won't ruin the couch while he's still damp. I'll be right there. Oh, and dinner is in the kitchen. Shouldn't be that hot anymore." 

"I should help you clean up here at least," Daniel mumbled.

"I'll handle it. Get warm and eat something. You’ve had a busy, long day." Jack shooed him off and finished mopping up the water. 

  
  


When he entered the living room, he found the coffee table set with knives, forks, glasses and a lit candle. Daniel and his dog were cuddling on the couch. Jack could hear the microwave hum in the kitchen, and Daniel told him he had was heating up two plates with casserole  because it had cooled off by now . 

A moment later they were enjoying their dinner quietly while the fire crackled in the fireplace. After a couple attempts of trying to get a bite of Daniel's food without success, Flyboy finally laid down in front of the fire, sulking. At least he had his chewing bone with him, and after a while he started gnawing on it. 

Daniel put his almost empty plate on the table and snuggled against Jack's side. "I told Jackson about my first birthday. When I turned eight," he said suddenly.

"You managed the monkey bars," Jack remembered with a smile. He could still recall how proud he had been of his kid. Jack had thought they'd go home with yet another bad memory for Daniel. On any other day, they would have left the park after the tantrum, but god, the kid had been so out of it. It had been his birthday, and Jack just couldn't let it end like that. Not without giving him one more try at the damn monkey bars. 

When he'd done it in the end, Jack was relieved and happy for both of them. Those monkey bars had been a thorn in Daniel's side for a few weeks and Jack had had to ride out the waves of Daniel's frustration. So he'd been more than a little happy when Daniel finally mastered them. 

"Jack?"

"Mh?"

"Do you think I could have a party this year... maybe?" the munchkin asked shyly.

"Sure. If you want a party, you'll get one. It's your choice. I'd like that though. More cake. If everybody brings one." 

Daniel poked his elbow into Jack's ribs and grinned. "You're greedy, O'Neill."

"Yep, that's me. I like cake. Big honkin' cake. With loads of frosting." 

"But no candles. I liked the cake with no candles last year," Daniel said thoughtfully. 

"Nah, once you get older than thirty-five, you really shouldn't have candles on the cake anyway," Jack teased. "Would tell everyone you're getting real old."

Daniel answered him with a big yawn, and Jack gently nudged him. "How about some sleep?"

"'kay. Jack?"

"Daniel?"

"What are we going to do tomorrow? It's Sunday. No work. Not that I don't have enough work to do... but you were gone almost two days. Maybe we can do something together?"

Jack got up and pulled his half-sleeping kid from the couch. When they reached the bathroom so Daniel could brush his teeth, he leaned in the door and thought about Sunday plans.

"You and Jackson get along swell, huh?" he asked casually as Daniel brushed his teeth.

"Uh-huh." Daniel gargled and spat. "I'm glad. Everything's getting better."

"Yeah, well." Jack rubbed a hand through his hair. "You think he needs a hand with that garage he wants to clean out? We could do that tomorrow. That whole excuse of a house could use some paint too when it gets a bit warmer outside."

Daniel turned, a toothpaste mustache around his mouth. And when those big, blue eyes looked up at him with nothing but love and affection, Jack felt the warm, fuzzy feeling surge through him again. 

When he had tucked Daniel in, he sat on the edge of the bed as he did every night. 

"Love you, Jack," Daniel mumbled, half asleep already. 

Jack smiled and, for the moment, he allowed himself to forget that he and his little Daniel were living like this on borrowed time. 

"Love ya too, kiddo," he whispered and left the room when Flyboy had taken his place at Daniel's feet. 

Well, at least they might have a birthday party when Daniel turned nine.

Life was like a box of chocolates. You never knew what you’d get. But right now, life was good.

  
  



End file.
